Dallas sites tied to JFK's killing still resonate

An X marks the spot on Elm Street where the first bullet hit President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, near the former Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Sixth Floor Museum, background, on Dealey Plaza in Dallas.Associated Press

The former Texas School Book Depository building, left, now known as the Sixth Floor Museum, overlooks Dealey Plaza in Dallas. This is where Lee Harvey Oswald fired from, killing President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.Associated Press

The former Texas School Book Depository building, left, now known as the Sixth Floor Museum, overlooks Dealey Plaza in Dallas. This is where Lee Harvey Oswald fired from, killing President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.Associated Press

When a new Parkland Memorial Hospital opens in the spring of 2015, the lobby will feature a timeline of events from the hospital's history, including Nov. 22, 1963.Associated Press

A plaque marks the original site of Trauma Room 1 where doctors rushed to treat mortally wounded President John F. Kennedy at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. The room is now the radiology department at the hospital.Associated Press

This hallway in Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital features a display that includes portraits of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and the presidential seal.Associated Press

A historical marker, right, marks the intersection where Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed Dallas police officer J.D. Tippet in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. Oswald was arrested nearby at the Texas Theatre Nov. 22, 1963, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Associated Press

Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested at the Texas Theatre in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.Associated Press

This is the seat at the Texas Theatre that Lee Harvey Oswald was sitting in when Dallas Police arrested him on Nov. 22, 1963.Associated Press

Also known as "Old City Hall," it was in the parking garage of the Dallas Municipal Building that nightclub owner Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald as he was being transferred, and in top floor jail where Oswald was held. The building served as city hall until the late 1970s and included the police department and jail. The Oswald related spots are not accessible to the public, but the building still houses the Municipal Court.Associated Press

By Jamie Stengle, Associated Press

DALLAS -- A 1930s-era movie theater. A county hospital. An old brick rooming house. A bustling airport.

Sites associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, are scattered throughout Dallas and beyond.

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"These were just ordinary places -- an airport, a hospital, a movie theater, a house, city streets -- that were all of a sudden, literally in a blink of an eye, catapulted into this national spotlight," said Mark Doty, historic preservation officer for the city.

As the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the murder, the places connected to Kennedy's final hours -- and to his killer, Lee Harvey Oswald -- still resonate.

"I like to think of it as ordinary places with extraordinary stories," said city archivist John Slate.

"People really want to walk history, touch history, see history. Good history or bad, people want to see it. That's why walking down 10th and Patton streets (where Oswald shot a police officer) is a way of getting close to history, even though the landscape has completely changed," Slate said.

Dallas Love Field

The president and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy landed at Dallas Love Field at 11:37 a.m. They greeted those waiting at the airport, then headed downtown with their motorcade. Kennedy was shot at 12:30 p.m. At 2:38 p.m., Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president aboard Air Force One as it sat on the Love Field tarmac.

A marker on the road to the terminal notes the airport's place in history, and a recent renovation added a window with a view of where Air Force One was parked that day. Plans are under way to place markers at the window and on the tarmac. An old tower and a world map on the lobby floor are among the few landmarks that remain from how the airport looked in the early 1960s.

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Shots rang out as Kennedy's motorcade passed by the Texas School Book Depository building while traveling down Elm Street, through Dealey Plaza, a grassy area marking Dallas' birthplace in 1841. Oswald worked at the book depository and shot Kennedy from a sixth floor window there. The site instantly became a pilgrimage point, but the fate of the building remained uncertain for years.

Eventually, the county bought the building and used the first five floors for office space. The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza -- jfk.org/ -- which tells the story of Kennedy's life and death, opened as an exhibit on the sixth floor in 1989. It's now a major tourist destination with 350,000 visitors expected this year.

Parkland Memorial Hospital

The president's limousine sped to Parkland Memorial Hospital. He was taken to Trauma Room 1. The room no longer exists, but a plaque in what is now radiology marks its location. (The contents of the room are stored at a National Archives facility in Kansas.)

A hospital hallway features a bust of Kennedy, portraits of Kennedy and Johnson, and the presidential seal.

When a new Parkland hospital opens in 2015, a timeline in the lobby will include the events of Nov. 22, 1963. The Kennedy bust will be displayed there, and a memorial garden will be dedicated to Kennedy.

Oswald rooming house

On Oct. 14, 1963, the day before Oswald was hired at the school book depository, he rented a room for $8 a week from Gladys Johnson in her brick rooming house at 1026 N. Beckley Ave. in the Oak Cliff area southwest of downtown. He stayed there weeknights, in a nook with just enough space for a twin bed. He visited his wife on weekends in suburban Irving, where she lived with a friend, Ruth Paine.

About 30 minutes after the assassination, Oswald stopped by the rooming house, grabbed a jacket and headed out on foot.

The rooming house was eventually passed down to Johnson's granddaughter, Patricia Hall, who put it up for sale for $500,000 this year. Her grandmother and her mother refused to let tourists in, but Hall offers tours -- theoswaldhouse.com -- for $20 for adults and $10 for kids.

Site where policeman was shot

A marker went up last year at 10th Street and Patton Avenue, near the site where Police Officer J.D. Tippit was killed. Tippit was on patrol about 45 minutes after JFK was shot when he spotted a man who resembled the vague description of the assassination suspect. When Tippit got out of his car, Oswald fired, killing him instantly.

Texas Theatre

The Texas Theatre, at 231 W. Jefferson Blvd., was playing "War is Hell" when a harried Oswald rushed in without paying and sat near the back. He was followed by John Brewer, who managed a shoe store a few doors down. Brewer had been listening to reports of Tippit's shooting and noticed Oswald staring at a shoe display as police cars rushed to the shooting scene nearby. Brewer thought Oswald's behavior was suspicious and he had a theater employee call police. The lights went up and Oswald was arrested.

In the decades since, the theater -- which opened in 1931 -- survived a fire, escaped the wrecking ball and even hosted raves. For the last three years, it's been run by a group of filmmakers who show art house and classic films -- thetexastheatre.com/.

Like the other sites, it continues to be a draw for its link to the assassination. Eric Steele, one of the filmmakers, recalls the day he encountered a breathless man clutching a stopwatch, retracing Oswald's route. The man's mother, also making the trek, followed 10 minutes later.

Ruth Paine house

The night before the assassination, Oswald made a surprise weekday visit to his wife, who was living at her friend Ruth Paine's house with the Oswalds' two daughters. The home has changed hands several times but is now owned by the city of Irving and opened for its first public tours this month, cityofirving.org/museums/paine-house.asp.

The house has been restored to look as it would have on Nov. 22, 1963: Toys are scattered in a corner of the living room, dishes dry by the kitchen sink and baby bottles sit on the counter. Lying amid boxes in the garage is a re-creation of the rolled-up blanket where Oswald stored his rifle.

Trade Mart

As Kennedy was rushed to Parkland, a roomful of people awaited his speech at the Trade Mart, part of the Dallas Market Center, a market for buyers from around the world for everything from furniture to clothing. A bronze eagle sits in the circle drive where the president would have arrived.

Other sites:

Dallas Municipal Building: Oswald was held in a jail in this building at 106 S. Harwood. As authorities took him through an underground garage, he was fatally shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby. The building served as city hall until the late 1970s and included the police department and jail. It still houses Municipal Court, but the Oswald-related spots are not accessible to the public.

Oswald's grave: Oswald is buried at Shannon Rose Hill Cemetery in Fort Worth. Per the family's request, the cemetery doesn't supply directions to the gravesite and doesn't allow photos or video of his grave.

Oswald home on Neely: Oswald lived for two months in the spring of 1963 in a duplex in Oak Cliff at 214 W. Neely St. He posed in the backyard there for a picture with a rifle, with the home's exterior staircase in the background.

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